tighe

At the Chocolate & Port soiree the other evening, some of us started talking about different uses for pieces of stone such as tempering chocolate, rolling dough, serving cheese, etc., etc., and I mentioned that scrat and I bought two good-sized pieces of granite at Second Use in South Park, for a very reasonable price. They have a large variety of colors, sizes and shapes, so check it out if you're in the market.

I'm quite envious! Jeannie Pierola is the chef's name and I was coveting a tasting menu when I was there. Unfortunately they told me it was only available for groups of 8 or more. If I ever get back, I'm definitely going to make a point of setting something up ahead of time. Edited to add: if you're looking for a lunch place, The Laughing Cat in Ybor offers an exceptional value. For $8 you get a buffet of really tasty Italian and French items. It puts standard buffet food to shame.

I just returned from a business trip in Tampa and am planning a more full write-up, but here's the highlights... I had an exceptional dinner at SideBern's. It is the kind of creative food that is exciting without getting bizarre. I know its touristy, but I also enjoyed my dinner at Columbia in Ybor City. I definitely reccomend staying in Ybor if you can, downtown is a wasteland. I stayed at the Don Vicente and would highly reccomend it. You may also want to check out the Best of the Bay 2002 from the Weekly Planet Magazine. One of the places they mention is The Yellow Door, which is Vietnamese. I would have like to try it.

When my wife and I went to Tuscany for our honeymoon, one of the books that someone gave us was Walking and Eating in Tuscany & Umbria. Great book, but not what we had in mind for our honeymoon. I'm sure Wales would be comparable; the idea of spending the day on a lovely hike in-between places where you can eat well is tremendously appealing to me.

Ellen...Wow, these are such great accounts of the trip and the pics are beautiful. Its almost like you're professional photographer or something! This trip sounds like a good way to go for me. I really enjoy hiking, but despise camping. I wouldn't pretend to be in good enough condition to do this kind of trip at this point, but I can add it to the growing list of reasons to get my act together. I know you mentioned that there were a couple strenuous stretches, but how would you rate the difficulty of the hiking overall? Something about heavy physical activity just demands hearty, rustic food for me. Call me crazy, but if I hiked 15 miles in a day and ended up at Le Bernadin, I don't think I'd be that happy about it.

If you're talking about the relatively large place thats adjacent to the halal restaurant, I wouldn't bother. Not that good of a selection and the welcome for us non-believers is usually cool, at best. Scrat and I have joked about waltzing into the restaurant at some point and seeing how much of a stir it causes. There are actually 3 or 4 halal markets in that immediate area. There's one across the street to the west of the larger one, in what looks like a little white house, which scrat and I like. Friendly people, some really good flat bread and often a great price on French feta. This place in South Center sounds fantastic. I'm may try to get there this weekend. Edit: punctuation is your friend!

I've been to all except Cafe Juanita and its been a while since I was at Wild Ginger. When scrat and I were at Mistral, our server told us that not only had they received the highest food rating in Seattle, but actually the highest in the US. The statistical vagaries of the Zagats process aside, thats still a nice prize.

Almost Live did get kind of lame at the end of it's run, but had a few funny skits along the way. Speedwalker in which a superhereo played by Bill Nye (The Science Guy) has on some balltastic nylon "Speed Walking" shorts Kegger in the Field which was just an excuse to make fun of South King County allegedly being full of rednecks. Oriental Rug Mart is having a going out of business sale....again....and this time they really, really mean it. A lot of it was not so inside jokes about the region that were lost if you were watching on Comedy Central while living somewhere else. If it hadn't been for Almost Live I never would have known they had keggers down in Kent and speaking of South King County.... While the Space Needle may get all the revolving restaurant glory in Seattle, just a short drive south in beatiful Seatac is the area's best revolving restaurant. The Seatac Holiday Inn sports a casual dining room on it's top floor where you can enjoy a revolving meal for far less than it would cost at the Space Needle. Not to mention, that after dinner entertainment is just a short, safe walk down the street as everybody knows that all the area's best exotic dancers work in and around International Blvd. Seatac Holiday Inn Full Service hotel with 260 well-appointed deluxe guest rooms, located across from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Complimentary 24 hour shuttle to/from the airport for hotel guests. Free parking during your hotel stay. Order room service or Dine in our beautiful revolving restaurant on the 12th floor with spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, and enjoy singing servers. Their take off on Cops was always my favorite, especially "Cops in Kent" and "Cops in Mercer Island".... I've eaten at both the SeaTac Holiday Inn and the Space Needle. The food is worse and the view not nearly as good at the Holiday, it is a hell of a lot cheaper. Random, are you another South King County resident? Our numbers and powers are growing daily.... Edit to add: when I was a little kid, my parents took me to a revolving restaurant in Vancouver, couldn't tell you anything about it, but I believe its still there...

Coming soon to a waterfront hotel near you... Baleen, San Diego Menu Nothing particularly wrong with it, but not sure its going to wow anyone....

MsRamsey, scrat and I are planning to attend the next wine dinner at BM. If anyone else would like to go and is willing to be seen with us in public, let me know and I'd be happy to handle reservations....

HOLY CRAP!!

Sorry mjm, Bux is right and you're mistaken. Castillian is classical Spanish and Catalan is a distinct, though also 'romance', language. If they are speaking Catalan in a restaurant in San Sebastian, I'd be shocked. I wouldn't even comment, but I've spent some time Catalunya, and if you suggested that their language was 'Castillian', most of them would probably slit your throat. This page gives a good run-down of the different laguages spoken is Spain: Languages Spoken in Spain

Actually girl chow has been a long-time advocate of 99 Ranch and we've discussed a couple different places including here most recently. You're absolutely right, its a great place

Does Cafe Besalu have pain au chocolate? I appreciate the purity of the plain croissant, but chocolate (and pork fat) makes everything better....

The menu for the next wine dinner has been released: Antipasto Soppressata Sausage with Marinated White Beans and Arugula Argiolas Costamolino - Sardegna 2001 _____________________ Pasta Orecchietti with Eggplant Caponata and shaved Pecorino Romano Morgante Nero D’Avola – Sicilia 2001 _____________________ Insalate Grilled Octopus with Caramelized Cipollini, Spring Greens and a Balsamic Dressing Pichierri Primotivo di Manduria 2001 _____________________ Main Pan Roasted Veal Chop stuffed with Smoked Mozzarella, Grilled Polenta, Portabello Mushroom Ragout and Fava Beans Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva - Puglia 1999 _____________________ Dessert Lemon Cannoli – Almond-Laced Pastry Shell filled with an Italian Lemon Cream Ricotta Colosi Malvasia Della Lipari - Sicilia 2000 Tea and Coffee Wild horses couldn't keep me away, crappy sauces and all.....

Ahhh, perhaps this explains my obsession with Uno's pizza when I was in college (not in Chicago however). Last time I had it though, it seemed to have lost much of its allure...

I'm a big fan of the Perrin Reserve. The most recent vintage (2000?) is quite good, but the previous one was just spectacular I thought. If you like the Perrin, I think you'd also like the Louis Bernard which costs just a few dollars more. Edit to add: The question about why California can't seem to produce comparable wine at that price is a good one. The only US wine I've found that I think is comparable in quality and price, though stylistically different, is the Snoqualmie Syrah produced here in Washington. Don't know how widely available it is though.

I had a wonderful lunch at a place in Perugia called Il Falchetto, just a little ways off the main square. The braised lamb with truffles was one of the most memorable single dishes I had in Italy. Perugia is a worthwhile place to visit and has some incredible chocolate shops as well.

I think I had given up on Greek food in Seattle. It had been at least three years since I’d set foot in a Greek restaurant and I hadn’t given it much thought. When I lived on Capital Hill I used to go to Byzantion pretty regularly and, for a time, I thought it was very good. By the last time I went there it seemed to have descended into profound mediocrity. There had been two good Greek restaurants in succession in that cursed space on 1st and Union (University?, where Marcha y Tapas was, most recently). Other Greek places I’ve tried were uninspiring at best, plus with the advent of some good Turkish places in town, my jones for Eastern Mediterranean food was well served. I’ve heard consistently good things about Yanni’s, but I’ve never been. So, then how the hell did I end up at Porta Taverna on Eastlake a couple weeks ago when I needed to come up with a place to meet a friend for dinner? My best guess: divine inspiration and citysearch.com advertising. äüîá ôù Èåþ! I had passed Porta a couple times in the last year, mostly on my way to Pomodoro, another favorite on Eastlake. The evening in question, I was having one of those Eastern Med joneses and turned to citysearch to locate some place on/near Capital Hill. The first place that popped up, due to paid advertising I presume, was Porta. Perusing their menu online I was very intrigued by the items I was unfamiliar with, and the lack of the standard 10 or so that are virtually always present. If fact, the top of their menu states: “Here you will find many traditional Greek dishes rarely served in restaurants outside of Greece.” A-men! There are in fact a number of typical items (calamari, horiatiki salad, dolmandes, souvlaki, saganaki, etc.), but they seem to have kept the stuff I like and lost the rest. We started with calamari, one of my favorite things. Porta’s is bare bones, no flavored breading or ten-ingredient aioli to hide behind. Just straight ahead lightly breaded squid, cooked to the right consistency and served with a garlicky tzatziki sauce. Beautiful. Almost a quarter of Porta’s menu is comprised of very tempting dips. A complete dinner of pita and dip is definitely not out of the question. We chose one called Kopanisti made with feta, bleu cheese, mint, lemon and spices with pistachios scattered over the top and drizzled with sweet wine. It was a food epiphany, unique in flavor and highly addictive. Bring the trough. My friend wanted to try the dolmades, which I wasn’t so interested in. Porta’s are excellent, served warm and heavily seasoned; like little wrapped lamb burgers with pine nuts and currants mixed in. The last, and best thing we had, was the Arni Salata. Sauteed morsels of lamb with bacon, peppers and onions, served warm on a bed of greens, sprinkled with feta. Too damn good to be called a salad if you ask me. I was so enthused about the place that I took scrat there the following weekend. Unbeknownst to us it was Orthodox Easter and they had a band for the evening and were obviously expecting a big crowd. With no reservations we got put in a round mini-booth in the front of the restaurant. Turned out to be a great seat. Because of the special event, they were only offering a limited menu. For starters we had the feta/blue cheese dip, but were disappointed that the calamari was not available. Our server suggested the octopus. Braised and then flash fried, served atop basil vinaigrette, very crisp yet tender, this was just tremendous. Unquestionably the best octopus dish I’ve ever had. We, uhhh, had it for dessert too. We attempted to order the lamb salad, but apparently didn’t yell loud enough, over the music, for our server to understand us. Again, a happy mistake, as we got some tasty braised lamb shoulder with a great rice pilaf. The band that night, Balkanarama, was really fun and there was much spontaneous dancing. With a few rounds of ouzo, I was in a very Greek state of mind. The owner, Demetri Georgakopoulos, who runs the front of the house , is a very warm, welcoming person. Overall service is very casual, proficient and friendly. I’m going back soon!…

I'm sure that scrat and I can make whatever date work if necessary, and this is necessary.... And you young man, will get your review when I'm damn good and ready, and you'll like it!

Interesting, that could be it. I've never really had an older Gigondas, so perhaps that wouldn't produce the same mouth-feel for me. Guess I'm going to have to hunt down an older bottle or try to keep my hands off something I already have for several years...

I think that says "died and gone to heaven"..... For me at least, lamb with Rhone wines is one of the ultimate food-wine combos....

Yeah, they have some interesting meats available, including goat as well as pig and veal heads. Overall I thought the meat looked pretty good, though some of the seafood didnt' exactly whet my appetite however. I'm pretty damn picky about fish and I primarily judge seafood by smell, or preferably lack thereof, and there was definitely a "fishy" smell to the place that turned me off a little. Think I'll save my seafood purchases for Mutual Fish and focus on Wayne's hard-to-find products. The produce looked a little hit and miss, but the price was right.

Yes, only Gigondas, so far at least.... Nearly all French wine that I drink is from somewhere along the Rhone and none of the others have produced the same sensation. My experience with Spanish wines is pretty thin, and I don't think I've had Priorats, so who knows? I have had other carrignan wines from Languedoc and the Pyrenees which, although enjoyable, didn't produce the same 'chalky' sensation. Maybe I'm just a freak!

Stopped by Wayne's on Friday seeking some unusual ingredients for a little Cinco de Mayo feast scrat and I put together this weekend. They have quite a variety of both Mexican and Asian products packed into two small spaces that also contain a meat market and a fruit/veggie stand. There's also what appears to be a Russian deli counter at the back of the vegetable market. This place rates very high on the products per square inch ratio. Found some good stuff that I was having trouble locating elsewhere.... Also stopped by Grocery Outlet next door. Didn't have time to look closely at everything they have, but prices are CHEAP! Among their wines was a really good Orvieto Classico (for $6/bottle) that I had in Italy. I bought a couple bottles and have my fingers crossed that its in good condition. If so, I may clean them out of the stuff....